Georges St.
Pierre grounded and controlled Nick Diaz at
will, as he cruised to a unanimous decision and retained his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight crown in the UFC 158
headliner on Saturday at the raucous Bell Centre in Montreal. All
three cageside judges scored it 50-45 for St. Pierre (24-2, 18-2
UFC), who tied hall of famer Matt Hughes
for first on the all-time list with his 18th victory inside the
Octagon.

“I didn’t want to fight in boxing range with him because he’s the
best boxer in MMA, and his jiu-jitsu is amazing,” said St. Pierre,
who has held the UFC’s 170-pound title captive for nearly five
years. “He has a very unusual scrambling style that I don’t usually
see. I don’t have training partners like that. It’s very hard to
fight a guy like him. When you fight a guy like this, it’s almost
impossible to get ready for that.”

St. Pierre struck for takedowns in all five rounds, neutralizing
the Diaz guard with his stifling top game and well-timed
ground-and-pound. The champion held his own on the feet, as well,
tagging Diaz with his jarring jab and various other techniques,
from leg kicks to Superman punches.

Diaz (26-9, 7-6 UFC) did his best work in the third round, where a
burst of punches bloodied St. Pierre’s nose and briefly put him on
his heels. In the end, as many predicted, the Cesar
Gracie protégé simply could not stay upright long enough to
make any meaningful headway.

“I don’t want to make excuses, but I feel like I came out here a
little flat,” Diaz said. “I want to thank Georges for giving me the
credit I think I deserve. I want to thank Canada, because there are
just a lot of mixed martial arts fans out here, and people weren’t
spitting on me when I came out or anything.

“I don’t know how he knew what I was going to do,” he added. “I
thought that was kind of funny.”

St. Pierre still has never lost a decision, now a perfect 11-0 in
fights that reach the judges. Diaz, 29, sounded like a man who was
contemplating retirement.

“I think I’m going to have to figure out whether I want to keep
doing this,” he said. “To be honest, I really don’t think I’ve got
anymore. I think I’m done with mixed martial arts. I want to help
my team, and I’m tired of getting banged up like this. I’ve been
thinking this through for a while now, and I’ve been wanting to get
out of this thing for long enough.”

Hendricks Takedowns Overwhelm Condit

In the co-main event, Johny
Hendricks cemented his place as the No. 1 contender in the
welterweight division with a unanimous decision over former World
Extreme Cagefighting champion Carlos
Condit. Hendricks (15-1, 10-1 UFC) swept the scorecards by
matching 29-28 marks.

“Carlos is tougher than hell,” he said. “He fought one great fight.
I said we were coming out here to steal the show, and we did it.
I’ve seen this guy hit by some tough dudes, and I wasn’t going to
try to put him out. I tried to fight hard and get a win.”

A four-time All-American wrestler and two-time national champion at
Oklahoma State University, Hendricks stymied the “Natural Born
Killer” with his takedowns, a total of 12 of them by the bout’s
conclusion. He also unleashed his crushing left hand in sporadic
bursts, but Condit was up to the challenge.

Condit (28-7, 5-3 UFC) never stopped his pursuit, as he was
undeterred by his opponent’s strategy. The 28-year-old Jackson’s
Mixed Martial Arts export went after the man they call “Bigg Rigg”
with flying knees, head kicks and clubbing right hands, one of
which bloodied Hendricks’ nose in the third round. Unfortunately
for Condit, he had no answer for the bearded Oklahoman’s
takedown-heavy attack.

“Johny is awesome,” Condit said. “He fought a really smart fight,
and he was able to take it with the takedowns. The game plan was to
keep him moving backwards. He’s great when he’s moving forward, but
when you put him on his heels, he’s not as effective. I used that,
but I wasn’t able to stop the takedowns, and that ultimately lost
me the fight.”

Heavy-Handed Ellenberger Levels Marquardt

Reign MMA’s Jake
Ellenberger wiped out onetime Strikeforce champion Nate
Marquardt with a brutal two-punch combination and follow-up
ground strikes in the first round of their pivotal welterweight
scrap. Marquardt (32-12-2, 10-5 UFC) met his end 3:00 into round
one, finished for the first time in nearly six years.

Marquardt leaned on leg kicks and was effective with them in the
opening stages of the fight. However, Ellenberger (29-6, 9-2 UFC)
closed the distance, trapped the former middleweight King of
Pancrase against the cage and let loose with a left and then a
right. Marquardt folded where he stood, and Ellenberger closed it
out with one last right hand to the side of the head.

“It’s hard to explain the emotions right now,” said Ellenberger, a
winner in eight of his past nine bouts. “I’ve worked so hard and
sacrificed so much to get where I’m at, but this makes it all worth
it. Adversity really shows you how bad you really want it. I want
the world championship more than anything in my life. I’ve been
focusing on my speed and getting better every fight.”

Camozzi Streak Reaches Four in Split Verdict

Chris
Camozzi posted his fourth straight victory, as he earned a
split decision over fellow “Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 alum
Nick
Ring in a featured middleweight encounter. All three cageside
judges scored it 29-28, two of them siding with Camozzi (19-5, 6-2
UFC).

Ring (13-2, 3-2 UFC) employed a death-by-a-thousand-cuts approach,
as he pecked away at his foe with a sharp jab and a steady stream
of kicks to the leg and body. However, the 34-year-old Bellator MMA
veteran could not maintain the pace he needed. Camozzi turned the
corner in the second round, where he whacked Ring with a thudding
knee, and then turned up the heat in the third. There, he peppered
Ring with stiff jabs and left crosses, leaving a positive final
impression with the judges.

Ricci Outpoints Fellow ‘Ultimate Fighter’ Finalist
Fletcher

Takedowns and effective ground-and-pound carried
Tristar Gym representative Mike Ricci to
a unanimous verdict over Colin
Fletcher in a lightweight showcase. All three cageside judges
arrived at the same ruling: 30-27 for Ricci (8-3, 1-1 UFC).

A Firas Zahabi protégé, Ricci never allowed Fletcher (8-3, 0-2 UFC)
to find his comfort zone. The 26-year-old Canadian turned the tide
with a strong second round, as he scored with a takedown and left
Fletcher’s right eye badly damaged with some well-placed ground
strikes. Ricci punctuated his first Octagon victory in round three,
where he delivered another takedown, moved to the Englishman’s back
and threatened him with a rear-naked choke and an armbar.